"Let's run through it again."

Terry groans, burying his head in his arms and nudging aside his fifth cup of coffee and the discarded plate of eggs and toast. They've been at this for fuckin' hours now. Going through every possible scenario and coming up with this excuse and that excuse and ruling out anything that doesn't follow and setting aside shit for later and so on and so forth. Time ticking away faster than he can blink and the sun rising until it's high and bright in the sky, properly illuminating the trailer past the awful artificial light above them. By now, Terry has only an hour or so at most before he has to clock in for work and he still needs a shower. Not to mention a possible cat nap? That'd be nice. Hell, Edd should probably get some sleep too. Had he slept at all since he woke up to make breakfast yesterday?

Sighing, Terry looks up at him, seated across the table and staring down at his notes. His fingers are dug into his hair, tugging every now and then as a wave of frustration washes over him. He looks uncomfortable — anxious, really — and will occasionally scratch something out on the paper and re-write whatever he's got in mind. He looks tired too, though, with heavy bags under his eyes and an overall weary demeanor.

"I think we should take a break," Terry mumbles back finally, his voice a little hoarse.

"No," Edd retorts with no hesitation, "We have to ensure we leave no holes in this story. Now, one more time."

"This is the hundredth time you've said that," Terry argues breathlessly, "And I think you need some sleep."

"I can sleep when Eddy goes home," Edd argues, glaring back at him, "Now, again."

With another groan, Terry rests his chin in his hand; "Fine. Go."

"Alright," Edd sits up a little as his eyes lock on the top of the page, "Where has Eddy been while I've been visiting you?"

"Boarding school," Terry replies monotonously.

"And why is that?"

"Cuz our folks are lazy pieces of shit who couldn't be bothered to take care of a kid who's such a goddamn handful."

"And why would they send Eddy away and not me?"

"Cuz you're well-behaved and actually listen n' do what you're told," Terry sighs, "So boarding school is more of a punishment for him being a brat."

"And he's here now because…?"

"It's his spring break."

"And why am I not going to be here while he is?"

"Cuz Pipsqueak threw a goddamn tantrum," Terry growls, "He got all petty n' jealous when he found out you were comin' to see me without him so now he wants to visit by himself." Edd opens his mouth to ask a follow-up, when Terry continues. "And, since our folks favor Eddy for whatever goddamn reason, they put you in charge of our sickly Great-Aunt Ruth — or whatever the fuck her name is — for the weekend so he can have his stupid visit."

"Good," Edd mumbles, checking that off the list, "And, since this establishes that Eddy is often put in a foul mood because of me, it would also explain his inevitable confusion should your coworkers mention me. After all, it would make sense that a spiteful child would pretend to not know about his sister in an act of pettiness, right?"

"Right…" Terry rolls his eyes, believing that Edd's probably assuming a little too much about Eddy's likely behavior.

"Now," Edd sets the notes aside, "let's concoct a method to implement this notion and convince your coworkers of its validity. You'll want to do so as soon as possible to most effectively poison the well, of course."

Ah yes; now they come to what may be the trickiest part of this. He can't exactly bring this up out of nowhere, so he'll need to broach the subject with his coworkers in as natural a way as possible to avoid arousing suspicion.

"Yeah…" Terry sighs, "and it'll probably be a little tough to get them to believe this. It was sketchy enough to get them to buy you bein' my sister…"

"What exactly did you tell them about me, anyway?" Edd asks, his head cocked, "Before Valentine's Day, that is?"

"Nothin' really," Terry shrugs back, "A lot of what I told 'em was either on the day or sometime after. I mostly sprung it on 'em, which…I doubt will work a second time."

Edd deflates a bit at that. Clearly not the answer he was hoping to hear. He sits back in his chair, thinking carefully. After a long pause, he licks his lips.

"You work today, right?" he asks.

"In about an hour, why?"

Brow furrowed, Edd shifts in his seat; "Perhaps…I can come with you and help you convince them?"

Terry scoffs; "How, exactly? You're not the best liar, sweetheart."

"No," Edd admits, with a shrug, "but who's to say I have to do any lying?"

Leaning forward against the table, Terry gives him a concerned look; "I'm listening."

"Well…I can come with you for your shift and act horribly melancholy," Edd explains, his tone growing more and more melodramatic, "Just…so dreadfully distraught and sorrowful—"

"Without goin' over the top, I would fuckin' hope," Terry interjects.

"Uh…Well…Y-Yes…of course…" Edd stutters back with a blush, "Anyway, when your coworkers ask about that — as I'm sure they will given the way they've been attending me — you can then explain."

"I dunno…" Terry grimaces, "They were suspicious that I'd never mentioned you before…and I've definitely never talked about the little Pipsqueak…As far as I can remember, at least…"

"Perhaps that's merely because you find it so distasteful to mention Eddy?" Edd suggests, "And…that maybe doing so upsets me because of 'our parents' preferential treatment towards him and…well, since you care more about me than him, you also pretend he doesn't exist?"

Terry ponders that a moment. It could be enough to convince them? Really, all they need to do is get them to ask about this shit, then he can relay the spiel they just went over for the billionth time. Any follow-ups they might bring up that he and Edd haven't gone over already, he can work out on the fly. He offers a shrug.

"I guess that'll work," he relents, "We'll definitely see, at least. Was there anything else?"

"Um…yes?" Edd guffaws, "Of course there is! We have our story straight regarding everyone in the park, but there's so much else to consider! What am I to do while…they're here? Are you going to just lock me up in the bedroom all weekend? How and when would I use the lavatory? And what if they somehow find out?"

"Alright, alright," Terry groans, rubbing his eyes, "Slow the fuck down."

"Ed alone is such a wildcard when it comes to carefully laid plans!" Edd raves on, "Shouldn't we have some kind of contingency in place? Or two? Or three?! And then there's all that foam in the bathroom. That has to come down to avoid raising suspicion. And all of the labels I so carefully applied—"

"Would you calm down?!" Terry snaps, startling him and bringing an end to his little tirade, "We've still got tonight and tomorrow to get this shit done. So just…" He sighs, sitting back in his chair. "Just slow down, alright?"

Edd's quiet for a bit, letting that outburst settle, before mumbling more to himself than to Terry; "I wish you'd at least pretend to care about this more…"

"Hey!" Terry barks, "I care plenty. We've just been up half the goddamn night goin' over this bullshit story and I'm fuckin' exhausted. Aren't you?!"

"Of course I am…" Edd shrugs back, "But I'm not the one who invited Eddy here without properly thinking through any of this."

Dammit…God fucking dammit! Terry hates it when the kid's right like that…He takes a breath to calm himself.

"Alright, look," he begins slowly, "I've gotta get a shower and get to work. It's a shorter shift, so we can do some more planning tonight. As for the foam in the bathroom; I don't clock in till late tomorrow, so we can take care of that in the morning. Is that okay with you?"

Edd pouts in response, but gives a reluctant nod, perhaps realizing that arguing about his work schedule isn't going to solve this.

"Good," Terry sighs, standing from the table, "While I'm in the shower, can you please try and relax a little? Maybe take a little nap?"

"I don't want to sleep…" Edd murmurs back.

"Fine, don't sleep, but try n' relax at least," Terry orders, walking around the table to kiss the top of his head, "Gettin' worked up ain't gonna solve nothin'."

Again, Edd nods dejectedly, though seems to accept that response a little easier. Satisfied, Terry turns to retreat to the bathroom. As he showers, he must fight the urge to nod off while leaning against the wall. Fuck…if he could just close his eyes for five minutes…The only solution he can come up with is to drop the heat completely and shock his senses with the ice-cold water. Thankfully, it does the trick well enough and he's able to properly focus on readying himself for work.

When he walks out of the bathroom to retrieve his clothes, he notices Edd still waiting in the kitchen, but finds that he's already dressed. Too anxious still, it would seem. With a sigh, Terry heads to the bedroom and wastes no time getting dressed before returning to Edd, who's leaning against the table, his arms folded under his head. He's definitely feeling the exhaustion too, he just refuses to admit it. Brow furrowed, Edd sits up when Terry approaches him, presumably ready to leave. Fighting the urge to scowl, Terry leans against the table, towering over him to look a bit more imposing.

"Listen close, sweetheart," he begins coldly, "You can come with me and get the ball rolling on this story we've worked out, but after we get at least Mike informed about this, I want you back here and getting some sleep."

Edd pouts back at him; "But—"

"No 'buts'," Terry snaps back, "That's an order, Princess."

Still, Edd pouts, drawing Terry to sigh out his frustration. Leaning down a little further, he cups Edd's cheeks to keep his attention directed at him.

"I know you're worried and scared," he states more softly, "but I need you to be in your right mind and well-rested if you're gonna help me with this. I need you thinkin' clearly and not too tired to help me come up with solutions." He tilts Edd's chin up a bit. "Okay?"

That seems to strike a better chord, and Edd nods obediently. It's something, at least. Resolutely, Terry grabs his keys and ushers him out.

As they meander through the park in search of the boss man to find out where Terry's on call for the day, Edd puts on as pitiful a look as he can manage. Clinging to Terry's arm as they walk and staring mostly at his feet. Despite knowing that most of this is an act, Terry begins to worry there's more to it, particularly as he leans more heavily against the man's arm.

Finally, they come upon the manager's trailer and Terry knocks. While he waits for Mike to open up, he uses the time clock hanging on the side to punch in. The door opens as he puts away his card.

"Yer on the 'Tilt-O-Hurl' today," Mike announces, not bothering to look up from his clipboard, "And don't gimme shit about the short shift. Our attendance is down n' we gotta save our big hours for this weekend." He does eventually look up and gives Edd a funny look. "Oh…you brought yer sister again, huh?" He shifts a little, unsure how to approach the forlorn child. "Y'alright, kid?"

Edd shrugs back, turning towards Terry a little more with a pout. Mike looks to his employee, confused. With a grimace, Terry pries Edd off of his arm and kneels down to whisper to him.

"Maybe dial it back just a little, huh, Princess?" he hisses into his ear before pulling back a little to speak so Mike can hear, "How 'bout you go get yourself a treat from one of the snack tents?"

With another shrug, Edd nods to him before turning to walk away, looking no less dejected. Fuckin' drama queen…Glancing back at Mike, Terry reluctantly rises back to his feet.

"Yeah…sorry about that," he grumbles, "We got some…shitty news last night."

"Jesus, what's so bad that's got her feelin' like that?"

"Uh…well…" Terry stutters, rubbing the back of his neck, "Before that, I guess I oughta come clean about somethin' I've not been totally…'honest' about."

"Color me surprised…" Mike scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, well…" Terry pouts, "Anyway, I've neglected to mention that Marion isn't exactly my only sibling."

"What, you have another sister or somethin'?"

"Or somethin' is right…" Terry echoes in disgust, "A little shithead brother."

"Uh huh…" Mike crosses his arms, "And why, exactly, haven't you mentioned a brother before now?"

"Because just thinking about that little fucker pisses me off," Terry snaps back, "Only reason I never talked about Marion till recent was because I didn't see any reason to bring her up till she started visiting. But I try my damnedest to not even think about the Pipsqueak on a daily fuckin' basis because I can't stand thinkin' about him." He pauses before shrugging. "Besides that…it makes Marion upset…"

"Why?" Mike asks, "He's still yer brother. What about him is so bad?"

"Aside from the fact that our folks play favorites with him?" Terry retorts, catching Mike off guard, "It's fuckin' bullshit. She bends over backwards for their approval and get's fuck all, but the Pipsqueak sneezes and gets whatever he wants."

"But why would they prefer this other kid over her?" Mike asks, looking no more convinced, "She seems like the perfect child. Well-behaved, quiet, polite — sure as shit more manageable than any of the kids we see on a daily basis. What's better than that?"

Terry shrugs; "They wanted a boy to replace me with and didn't plan for or even want a girl."

Mike grimaced; "Oh, that old story…"

"Yeah…" Terry forces a sigh and crosses his arms over his chest, "It's frustrating as fuck."

"So what about this brother has her so upset?" Mike asks, "And why now? Where's he been all this time?"

"Well, he's a rowdy lil fucker who'd been gettin' into all kinds of trouble, so our folks shipped him off to a boarding school."

"A boarding school? Why?"

"You kidding?" Terry scoffs; "They do fuckin' everything they can to avoid being actual parents. They want their little trophy kids to show off, but they have no interest in doing anything for them or with them. So when the little shit was gettin' to be too much of a handful, they shipped him off to a boarding school as a punishment. They didn't send Marion with him only because it ended up savin' 'em even the slightest bit of money." He takes a breath, but decides to add before Mike can ask any follow-ups; "Anyway, she's upset because his spring break is coming up and he'll be visiting Friday to Sunday."

"So what?"

"So…it means she won't be here."

"Wait, why not?" Mike grimaces.

"Cuz he found out she was coming out here a lot more and threw a goddamn bitch fit," Terry practically snarls back, "He's a jealous little runt who thinks it's his turn to waste all my time. So our folks are giving the baby his bottle n' sending her to take care of some sick-ass aunt I barely remember so their little 'angel' can have his 'special fuckin' weekend'."

"Mm…So she's feelin' put out by all this?"

"Well yeah," Terry retorts, "And like she's bein' punished for just…bein' here."

Brow furrowed, Mike rubs his forehead with a sigh. He doesn't seem to know what to say or how to really respond to this. Shit, as far as Terry can tell, he's probably not even buying this story. Rather than let him think too much about it, Terry rubs the back of his neck, prepared to spin more of this story on the fly in hopes of convincing him with a 'heartfelt request'.

"Anyway," he goes on, "I'm pissed as hell he's upset her like this, so when the little shit gets here, I don't want any special treatment for 'im. He's gonna have some grubby friend along with him, but I don't care. I don't want them getting anything just because they're here with me. They want food? Let 'em buy it their own damn selves. They wanna ride anything? Make 'em buy a fuckin' ticket. I don't care. Whatever it takes to make this fuckin' visit the worst ever. But more than anything, I gotta ask that you don't bother mentioning her around 'em. He's bein' a petty shit and whenever he's all pissy with her, he winds up pretending to be confused and implying that she doesn't exist and I'm not dealing with it."

"Fine by me," Mike shrugs returning his attention to his clipboard and turning back to his trailer.

"Oh, and…" Terry interjects, halting him, "if you wouldn't mind sharin' that around, I'd appreciate it. I'd…rather not bring it up that much if I can help it while Marion's still here and I'd really rather not have anyone bring it up with her themselves. I mean…" He pouts a little. "You saw how sad this whole situation's got her…"

Mike nods; "Right…Will do."

"Thanks…" Terry waves, speaking mostly to himself as Mike returns to the trailer.

With that out of the way, and an anxious feeling in his gut that this little story might not be landing, Terry begins trudging to the Tilt-O-Hurl. On the way, he lights a cigarette in hopes of calming his nerves or even waking himself up a little. As he nears the ride, he spots Edd sitting up against the console, knees drawn to his chest and a barely-touched skein of cotton candy in his hand. Dave's at the controls — Great…as if I need anymore of a headache… — and occasionally leans over to say something to him. Nothing Edd's interested in hearing, it seems. Only as Terry draws near does Edd perk up at all. He rises to his feet and rushes over to him, abandoning his treat to fall unceremoniously to the ground and ignoring whatever Dave's protesting with.

"How'd it go?" Edd asks softly, delicately grabbing the front of his shirt.

Terry grimaces back at him and gently nudges him away, adding with a hiss; "I thought I told you to go to bed?"

Turning his attention to Dave, he side-steps the boy to take his coworker's place. Dave turns to him with that familiar, shit-eating grin.

"'Bout time you decided to drag yer fat ass over here," he greets, leaning against the console, "I was gettin' bored babysittin' the lil Debbie Downer."

"Fuck off," Terry grumbles back, jabbing him aside with his elbow.

"Terry!" Edd whines, appearing at his side and tugging on his overshirt.

"What?" Terry snaps back, rubbing his forehead.

Edd doesn't answer immediately, but draws in close to his side. As Terry glances at him, he finds the kid glancing over at Dave and acting all shy n' shit. Something that his coworker takes notice of.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" he asks mockingly, "Cat got yer tongue?"

Terry sighs, reaching down to place his arm around the boy's shoulder.

"She's just havin' a bad day…" he explains with a grumble.

"I can see that," Dave scoffs, "What'd you do to make her so damn upset?"

"You assume it's my fault?" Terry retorts as the ride reaches its end. I mean…it kinda is, but fuck him anyway for assuming.

"Well, yeah," Dave retorts, "What d'you know about treatin' pretty little girls right?"

Edd whines a little at that, his grip on Terry's shirt tightening. Terry, meanwhile, shoots him a dirty look in response.

"Says the motherfucker who treated her like dog shit when he first met her," he notes bitterly.

"That's…different…obviously…" Dave shrugs, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Mm hmm…" Terry grumbles back, absentmindedly watching the guests vacating the ride and the ones waiting to board, "Look, we got some shit news last night, so we're not really in the mood for this today."

"Sor~ry!" Dave replies, throwing his hands up in a mocking show of defense, "Sore subject, I guess…"

"Yeah, kinda…" Terry sighs, "We're gonna have a very unwanted fuckin' guest hangin' around this weekend."

"What kinda guest?"

"Well…" Terry pauses, thinking carefully about how to broach this with him, "Y'know how I never mentioned Marion here before Valentine's?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, so I also got a brother I've never brought up before."

"Oh really?" Dave laughs, "Since fuckin' when?"

"I dunno, roughly the same time as her?" Terry shrugs, starting up the ride when given the 'go-ahead', "Point is, he's a little shit bag who treats her as bad as you did whenever he's around n' he's comin' here on Friday for his spring break from boarding school."

"Your folks put just the one kid in boarding school?"

"Yeah, it's a punishment thing," Terry groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "He needs 'correction' for being an obnoxious pieces of shit; she doesn't. Period."

"So…I can't put my finger on it, but I'm gettin' the feeling he's a shitty little brat?" Dave jokes, hoping to lighten the awful mood Terry's clearly found himself in, "But so what? You've been puttin' up with one anklebiter all this time. What's the problem with puttin' up with this one for a little while? Regardless of how shitty he is?"

"The problem," Terry sighs, "is that she can't be here while he is cuz he threw a fuckin' hissy fit when he found out she was coming to see me alone. So now he wants to do the same n' she's gonna be takin' care of our sick aunt what's-her-name."

"Great-Aunt Ruth…" Edd mumbles.

"Yeah, her."

"Aww…" Dave offers a fake pout, "Is our little Princess going away for a while?"

The sound of that pet name makes Edd cringe away and Terry bristle in disgust. Only he can call Edd that, dammit…

"Yes," he retorts through his teeth, "She is."

"Poor baby…" Dave snickers.

"Are you ever gonna fuck off?" Terry spits back.

"Damn, this really is a sore subject, huh?"

"I don't like talkin' about this around her," Terry retorts, petting Edd's hair, "She's feelin' bad enough because of him n' I don't wanna make it worse. But besides that, I don't like talking about him in general. I mean, he acts like she doesn't exist and pretends to be all confused n' shit if you mention her name out of some fuckin' pettiness. Why should I acknowledge he exists?"

He can feel Edd fidgeting, anxious about Dave's response. Terry glares over at his coworker.

"Look, I already explained all this to Mike n' I'd rather just get the fuck on with my shift without talkin' about that little fucker anymore," he barks, "If yer so goddamn interested, go ask him."

He feels Edd nudge him at that, but can't bring himself to care. His exhaustion is beginning to catch up with him after how tense he'd been while talking to Mike and he's in no mood to discuss this any more. Dave, thank god, seems to catch on to that message.

"Jesus, alright…" he retorts, pushing himself off of the console, "I gotta clock out anyway…I'm sure I'm goin' way over time just listenin' to you jaw on forever."

"Right…" Terry rolls his eyes, "Y'mind spreadin' this around a little too? I definitely don't feel like repeating this anymore than I already have."

"Yeah, sure," Dave shrugs, "Since you can't be fucked to do it."

He snickers to himself as he walks away, finally leaving them be.

"Terry!" Edd chides in a hiss when Dave's out of earshot, "You're supposed to be convincing your coworkers, remember?"

With a groan, Terry leans against the console, head in his hand.

"I'm trying, okay?" he sighs, "But Mike barely seemed to buy this shit n' I figure it'll be better to get him to get everyone talkin' anyway and I just—"

"That's not good enough!" Edd argues, "This is your fault! You have to fix this!"

Edd's biting tone and harsh words sting more than they probably should. Has he even said one gentle or affectionate word since they started planning? Or has every last thing to come out of his mouth been hateful or vindictive or otherwise unpleasant? Would it kill him to show even the slightest hint of affection that he was so willing to share last night? Hell, the last affectionate thing he heard from him was said in an effort to manipulate him, Does Edd not understand that he's just as concerned as he is? Is it just because he's not panicking? That he's too damn exhausted to even try to panic right now?

"Terry!"

That angry voice cuts through his reverie, aching him again. He grimaces and takes a deep, weary breath, but refuses to look at him.

"Fine…" he murmurs, "Whatever you want…Just…" He covers his eyes with his hand, rubbing furiously against the sleep that's so desperate to settle there. "Stop talking at me like that. I can't…fuckin' take it right now."

That seems to quiet him for now, allowing him to focus on his actual job for the moment. He then feels his shirt being tugged at again, but he doesn't turn towards him. Just shoots him a quick glance. He looks remorseful, at least; wringing his hands together and pouting up at him.

"I'm sorry…" he mumbles, "I…I didn't mean to…I just…This whole situation is…"

"I get it," Terry interjects coldly, "But this shit ain't helpin'." He rubs his forehead. "Can you just go back to the trailer?"

"I don't want to sleep…" Edd whimpers, "I don't think I can…I wanna sta—"

"Well, one of us should at least fuckin' try," Terry snarls back, "Cuz I sure as shit ain't gettin' any right now because of this."

With another pout, Edd reluctantly draws away and begins walking back towards the trailer. Not even a hug before he left? Great…

At least with Edd gone, he can focus on his shift a little more. A number of his coworkers come up to him every now and then over the course of his shift, having been sent over by Mike who clearly had no intention of explaining the situation or coming to confirm what Dave had told them. They still have more questions that Terry's off-the-cuff responses don't seem to answer properly, but they at least seem sympathetic towards Edd and more than willing to make Eddy's life a living hell while he's here. More importantly, they also swear not to mention Edd while Eddy's around. Guess that's taken care of…

When his shift finally winds to a close, he feels dead on his feet. Not that his duties were particularly taxing, but the lack of sleep on top of the tedious responsibility of manning the controls on the ride is fucking killing him. Still, he tries his damnedest to cast the notion of a good night's sleep or even a half hour nap out of his mind. He promised Edd they'd do more planning when he got home and he can't bear to have the kid more angry at him than he already is.

Walking in, he's barely surprised at all to find the boy sitting at the table, writing more shit down. Yeah. Okay. Whatever…He looks up as Terry closes and locks the door behind him, leaning against it briefly.

"Oh, you're back!" he states enthusiastically, "Excellent! I have a few ideas I'd like to go over with you."

"Kay…" Terry grumbles, trudging over to the couch and slumping down.

A couple of Edd's toys tumble to the floor, and it's only now that he notices that they're even out here, gathered in what had been a neatly organized pile. He can't hope to decipher the reasons behind that in his state, and instead leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he buries his face in his hands. Maybe he can let himself drift off for just a hot second like this? Or maybe just keeping his eyes closed like this will make them stop burning with exhaustion long enough to let him focus on whatever the hell Edd wants to tell him? Shit, Edd's been talking to him even before he sat down, hasn't he? What's he saying?

"…gathered all of my belongings, as you might've noticed…" he continues, his voice breaking through the fog, "I believe it'll be best to store them away somehow in a place that Ed and Eddy won't be able to reach. I considered keeping them in the bedroom closet, but I was also thinking about possible contingency plans and I think it would be wise to keep most of my things in a suitcase or something equally portable that you have in the event that we must quickly depart." His voice is sounding closer, but Terry doesn't bother looking up right now to verify it. "I've also been putting more thought into how to approach my isolation issue that I think will be most…effective…Are you okay?"

That gets his attention, drawing him to peek through his fingers to find Edd standing beside him and gazing at him in concern, his paper hanging loosely between his fingers. With a sigh, Terry forces himself to lower his hands and recline against the couch.

"Yeah…" he mumbles, "Just fine." He takes a deep breath try to wake himself up a little more. "You seem to have plenty of energy…Did you actually do what I asked you to?"

Edd shrugs shyly, setting the paper down on the coffee table; "It turns out, I…couldn't stay awake much longer after I came back…But I tried to keep it short so I could get more done."

Terry rolls his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose; "Sounds good…Okay, what else?"

Edd doesn't answer right away, but he can feel those pretty eyes watching him carefully.

"We don't…have to do this now…" he murmurs after a moment, "I know you're tired…"

"I said we'd talk about this, so just…get on with it," Terry argues weakly.

"I…shouldn't have kept you up all night worrying about this," Edd notes sadly, "And having to go to work on top of it…You can barely keep your eyes open, and I've only been making it worse…"

Terry can't bring himself to answer. Yeah, Edd's definitely not been helping, but he doesn't want to agree with that and make him feel bad. In his hesitation, he feels Edd's little hands wrapping around his own before tugging.

"Come on," Edd orders softly, "Get up."

Groaning a bit, but feeling too weak to protest, Terry obeys, rising to his feet. Without any further hesitation, Edd leads him to the bedroom.

"Shoes off, please," Edd asks as they walk in, releasing his hand and turning to the bed.

Brow cocked, Terry kicks off his shoes as Edd pulls back the sheets. When he turns back to Terry, Edd bows his head contritely.

"I'm sorry I've been so unreasonable about this," he begins, "But I realize that you desperately need some sleep. I…don't want you to feel as tired as you do."

Terry sighs through his nose; "What about all that planning you wanted to do?"

Edd shrugs weakly; "We have time. Please…You look so haggard and…and I know how it feels to be so tired you can barely function…You were right before, about needing to have a clear head to approach this."

"Alright, where's this comin' from, exactly?" Terry asks with a grimace, "Earlier today, you were all over my fuckin' case demanding we plan shit out and take this seriously and not rest a wink till we had every last detail ironed out and now, all of a sudden, you wanna just shove it all aside to make me sleep?"

Hunching his shoulders, Edd fidgets uncomfortably, his gaze locked on the floor; "I felt…bad about the way I was behaving earlier. The way I was talking…it didn't occur to me until I came back here that I hadn't once stopped to take into account how this was affecting you. You've only been putting me first and trying to help me relax and stop me from panicking and I panic anyway." He starts quivering, clutching the hem of his shirt. "I know you said you understand, but, I'm just…so scared. I…If they find out…I-I'll have to go home and…" He flinches, his eyes snapping shut as he swallows thickly. "A-And I'll never see you again and I just…I can't bear to think of that."

There's the tenderness he's been looking for. Worried about their little secret getting out, sure, but to hear that he's specifically worried because he's afraid of losing him over anything else is better than he could've hoped for. Breathing evenly, Terry steps towards him. Whining softly, Edd brings his hands up to hug his own middle to comfort himself.

"I'm scared that…" he continues a whimper, "no matter how much we plan for, Eddy will still find out…That everything we've done is pointless and this will all come crashing down."

"I told you, Princess," Terry sighs, cupping his cheeks, "I won't let that happen."

Edd pouts up at him before reluctantly pushing his hands away.

"Please…get some rest…" he asks softly, "I-I can come up with some more contingency plans in the meantime and we can discuss them when you wake."

Terry feels his look soften as he reaches for him again, gently pulling him closer.

"I want you to stay with me," he murmurs, leaning down to kiss his forehead, "While I sleep…"

For a moment, Edd looks uncertain about that prospect, but then gives a nod.

"I suppose there's nothing preventing me from thinking about those things in here…" he offers shyly.

Terry nods towards the bed, indicating him to settle in first. Edd obeys, climbing onto the mattress. He doesn't lie down yet, merely gazing back at Terry expectantly. Wearily Terry joins him on the bed and pulls the covers up. Edd starts to scoot down to cuddle close, only to be stopped by the man's hands holding him still. Pressing his forehead to the boy's temple, Terry's lips gently caress the shell of his ear.

"Stay like this…" he urges softly, "Let me listen to your darling little heart beating for me."

That adorable blush he loves so much spreads across his gorgeous face as Edd nods again. Pleased, Terry places a peck to his lips before laying beside him and resting his head on the small chest, his ear just over his heart. As the delicate 'thu-thump…thu-thump' soothes him, along with the little fingers gently stroking his cheek and hair, Terry's eyes slip blissfully closed.